Former Grey County warden Howard Greig isn’t a fan of the county’s new logo and he said he’s willing to bet most people are in the same boat.
On Tuesday night, the former Chatsworth mayor and a guest speaker at the inaugural meeting of county council’s 2013 term issued a challenge to newly minted second-term Warden Duncan McKinlay — poll the public to see if the new logo is favoured over the old one.
He said council should not be afraid to eat crow and ditch the new logo.
“Yeah, you’ll be out $30,000. The public will forgive you. I’m not so sure the public will forgive you if you don’t go out and change it,” said Greig, who served as the county’s warden in 1993 and 2000.
Former wardens are invited each year to inaugural Grey County council sessions, which is when a new warden is chosen for the following year. A former warden is invited to say a few words after the selection of warden. Usually the speech consists of some advice or a verbal pat on the back for a good past term. Greig’s speech was different and took direct aim at council’s decision to approve the new logo.
McKinlay responded not by defending the new logo, but by saying the public was consulted before it was approved by council.
He said a councillor can at any time bring the logo back up for discussion — as long as two-thirds of council supports revisiting the debate.
He reminded those at the meeting that people disliked the Canadian flag at first too.
“The new logo may not catch on like the maple leaf but we will see,” he said. “Only time will tell whether it’s the right decision.”
The county paid Toronto-based Yfactor Inc. $30,000 to create its new logo and tag line. It was approved by county council last week.
The slogan “Colour it your way” will replace “Beautiful . . . Naturally.”
The new logo features an angular shape — to represent area mountains and the Niagara Escarpment — with concentric circles, next to the words Grey County. It replaces a circular, mostly green logo that featured a scenic image, with a stream and trees, along with the words Grey County and slogan “Beautiful . . . Naturally.”
The new logo has received a lot of criticism.
Grey Highlands council wanted the county to defer its vote to approve the design until lower-tier municipalities were consulted. One member of Grey Highlands council called the logo “disgusting.”
People have also taken to The Sun Times website, Facebook and Twitter to slam the design.
The county is also being criticized for not hiring a local company to design the logo.
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